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T O P I C R E V I E W

Robert Pearlman

I received the following this evening from Aurora Galleries, further to what was posted on the front page of cS.

This is Michael Orenstein's personal accounting of the discovery:

During a visit to Buzz Aldrin this morning, the subject of Michael Collin's 18kt gold LM model, presented to each of the Apollo 11 astronauts by French newspaper Le Figaro during their 1969 post-flight trip to Europe and included in our auction, came up. Dr. Aldrin asked if the model included the microfilm roll. I asked "What microfilm roll?" He proceeded to tell me that each model contained a hidden roll of microfilm secreted within the model. This film contains pages of names of persons associated with the Apollo 11 presentation of this model. I told Buzz I never knew the film existed and therefore hadn't looked for it.

After I got back to the office, Victoria and I went on a treasure hunt using the model as the subject. Amazing how many places on a LM are possible hiding places. After much searching, we discovered that the skirt of the LM rocket engine on the base was removable and, contained within (sure enough), THERE was the roll of film. This film has been secreted here for the past 34 years, untouched and unseen, and, even better yet, it is in excellent condition.

Curiosity got the better of Victoria and me. We removed the film and partially unrolled it to see what it said. Near as we can tell, it is written in French (Surprise!) and begins: "Homage des Lecteurs du Figaro aux Astronautes American. Liste des Souscripteurs por les "LEM" D'Or..."

The microfilm contains the list of all the readers of the "Figaro" (then the biggest French newspaper with "Le Monde") who gave money for these three items. Therefore it was a gift entirely paid by the readers, and a tribute from the French people to the US Space effort and the A11 crew.

Frederic Janik

quote:Originally posted by 1202 Alarm:Therefore it was a gift entirely paid by the readers, and a tribute from the French people to the US Space effort and the A11 crew.

I wonder what I would think if I would have paid for this gift to the astronauts to see it sold at an auction to a rich individual probably not related to the Apollo effort..

Granted it has been many years, but still...

1202 Alarm

You have a point there.

I thought about it for a minute and had the same reaction but then.. if it's a gift, it's a gift, right ? I mean.. I never ask my girlfriends to give back my gifts when the love story is over

I prefer to think that Michael Collins will enjoy the use of 20'000$ out of it, at this point he will get more fun with the money than to watch this strange thing for another 35 years...

Gordon Reade

As far as selling the Gold LM is concerned look at it this way. If you had flown Apollo 11 and you knew your name would be in the history books for as long as records from this era exist what need would you have of it? The goodies given you after the flight are not the important thing. The flight is what mattered not jewelry.

Robert Pearlman

It would appear that Collins' Cartier of Paris/Le Figaro gold lunar module model was (re-)acquired by Cartier of Paris. From the American Museum of Natural History's soon to be closing exhibitGold:

The Thrill of Victory

Whether racing to the finish line or hurtling through space, extraordinary achievements are recognized with extraordinary trophies.

Three individual 18-karat gold models of the American lunar module were made in 1969 by the jeweler Cartier of Paris on behalf of the French newspaper Le Figaro and presented to the three Apollo 11 astronauts during their postflight tour in Paris. This model was presented to astronaut Michael Collins.

The model is credited to the Cartier Collection.

For those in the New York area, you can see the model on display at the museum until August 19, 2007.

connoisseur

Its nice to know that I'm gone but not forgotten. I had forgotten how young I looked in that photo. A lot of water has passed under the bridge. In a few weeks I hope to have a major announcement for CS readers. Best save your money until you hear from me.